༄ 𝑇𝐻𝐸 𝑃𝐻𝑂𝐸𝑁𝐼𝑋 𝐴𝑅𝐶𝐻𝐸𝑅（𝐿𝑊𝑊）༄

Chapter 2- The Other Human

I heard the door open easily. "That's odd. I thought Mr. Tumnus locked the door," I said to myself.
Then I heard a female voice say "May I help you with that?"

I wasn't able to hear the reply of the other person as they were obviously still outside. Then I heard whoever they were enter and shut the door followed by quiet footsteps and light talking. I couldn't make out a voice or a sound but I was, however, I was curious as to who was here. My question was soon answered when they spoke up.

"Ana? Ana, where are you?" someone asked.

I knew that voice. It was Tumnus! I quickly got out of my hiding spot and ran into his living room.

"Mr. Tumnus! You scared me! I thought-" I cut myself off seeing a little girl in the living room. She couldn't be older than ten. She was holding a picture of Mr. Tumnus' father but put it down when she saw me. Both of them were staring at me. "Oh," was all I managed to say.
The little girl laughed. "Hello. I'm Lucy Pevensie," she said walking towards me. "What's your name?"
At first I was speechless. Then I managed to stutter out "I-I'm Ana Cendre. Everyone calls me Ana."
"Pleased to meet you, Ana," she held out her hand. I just looked from her to her hand. "Oh, right. I forgot you guys don't know what to do."
I must have had a confused look on my face because she said "I did the same thing to Mr. Tumnus and re reacted the same way."
"Oh. I'm sorry," I apologized to her, then smiled. "I'm going to see if Mr. Tumnus needs any help." Then I left the young girl standing in the living room looking around.

Mr. Tumnus was in his kitchen preparing some tea and snacks.
"Mr. Tumnus?" I asked.
"What is it Ana?" he replied.
I didn't want Lucy to hear, so I stepped closer and whispered "She can't stay here. It's not safe. She'll be much safer in her world. I spent a little time there and it felt safer. I only wish I could figure out how to get back..." This last sentence I said more to myself but Tumnus still heard.
"I know she can't stay here. But I couldn't leave her out in the woods for the Witch to find," he stated. With that he took the tray into his living room.

I followed and sat down in a chair beside Lucy, next to the fire.
"You're very pretty," she whispered to me.
I sat there, a little shocked. No one ever said that to me and if they had, I wouldn't have believe it. But instead of telling her this, I simply said "Not as beautiful as you, dear."

She smiled up at me and then took her teacup from Mr. Tumnus. He offered me a cup and I turned him down politely. He looked a bit confused at first but quickly hid it and put the cup away. I noticed he didn't take anything either.

"But you would have loved Narnia in the summer," Mr. Tumnus said randomly.
"What?" I asked, confused.
"Mr. Tumnus was just explaining to me about having no Christmas in Narnia," Lucy said. "And a long winter..."
"Oh. I must have tuned everything out."
"You did," Mr. Tumnus said and Lucy laughed.
"Oh. Well, please continue."
"As I was saying, you would've loved Narnia in the summer. We fauns danced with the dryads all night. And you know we never got tired."
"I loved watching them dance," I said, sadly.
"And the music! Oh such music! Would you like to hear some now?"
"Oh, yes please," Lucy said a little shyly.
Mr. Tumnus smiled and grabbed a box from the mantle. "Now. Are you familiar with any Narnian lullabies?" he asked.
"Sorry, no." she replied.
"Well that's good. Because this probably won't sound anything like one."

They both smiled and he began to play a tune that I hadn't heard before. It was a very sweet sound but also kind of sad. I was so absorbed in my thoughts and listening to the music that I didn't notice what was going on around me. All I was paying attention to was the music and the strange, uneasy feeling it was giving me. It wasn't something I had expected and I didn't know what was happening.

Suddenly, a teacup crashed to the floor and I looked to see that Lucy had fallen asleep. She looked so peaceful, but I couldn't stay focused on her sleeping long because the candles went out, the fire included, and we were plunged into darkness. The music suddenly stopped and an eerie feeling filled the air.